“Bulk” coin dispensers use a bin or “hopper” for storing coins (including tokens or other disk-shaped objects) in random orientation rather than stacked or otherwise aligned in canisters or tubes. Use of such a bin makes loading inventory much simpler than for devices requiring alignment of the coins, and also facilitates use of the dispenser as a coin recycler by allowing coins to be collected in random orientation rather than in stacked, aligned orientation.
Generally the bin storing inventory for a bulk coin dispenser is integral to and inseparable from the remainder of the dispensing drive system. Thus removal of coin inventory often requires removal of the entire dispenser, including the base containing the control electronics and drive mechanisms, or at least tilting of the entire dispenser to empty the bin into another receptacle. Such removal or other movement of the entire dispenser increases the opportunity for damage to mechanical components and/or electrical interfaces, and transfer of coins may result in loss or theft. In addition, storage of entire dispensers with coin inventory within a safe limits the amount of inventory that can be stored in a given volume. In designs where the bin is removable from the dispenser base, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,572,177, the opening at the bottom of the bin for receiving the rotatable disk with cutouts employed to dispense coins precludes the removal of the bin while still holding coin inventory.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for an improved bulk coin dispenser.